Size - Smaller than a Red-tailed Hawk, but larger than a crow. Field
guides indicate 17" L & 40" W.Color - Brown head and back. Throat & breast brown, flanks &
belly were streaked with brown & kind of white, or off-white. Vent area was
white. Tail was black with 4-5 thin white stripes. Wings were mottled with
white, but not as distinctively as the field guides show. There wasn't any color
(red or rust) on the scapulars or shoulder indicating that it wasn't an adult.
There was a translucent pale crescent across wing tips.Flight - The flight was more rapid &direct than a Red-tail. The
translucent crescent was very visible in flight. When it flew straight away it
flew accipiter-like with rapid wing beats & then a short glide.

Song
or call & method of delivery:

None

Behavior:

The hawk flew from one tree to another & landed deep in tree branches rather
than on top.

Habitat:

Trees near water. Open area near Powell Slough (a marshy area) on the east side
of Utah Lake.

Similar
species and
how were they eliminated:

Red Tail juvenile - This bird had distinctive tail bands, not thin bands like a
Red Tail.
Broad-winged Hawk - Tail banding different, & this hawk was larger than a
Broad-winged. Not here during winter either.

Previous
experience with this & similar species:

Previous experience with this and similar species: I have seen Red-tailed hawk
five or six times before in this state and am familiar with both the adult &
the juvenile. This was definitely a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk.

References
consulted:

Description
from:

Observer:

Merrill Webb

Observer's
address:

Observer's
e-mail address:

Other
observers who independently identified
this bird:

Many other observers subsequently located this bird including Matt and Pia
DeVries